The Afro-Latina trailblazer artist elevating talent in Miami – NBC 6 South Florida

During Hispanic Heritage Month, NBC6 is celebrating the key contributions of Latinos in the South Florida community.

Focused on growing South Florida art community,  Octavia Yearwood is an Afro Latina and Miami resident who serves as a curator and producer.

She is also aggressively committed to preserving the creative and artistic culture in South Florida.

“My family migrated from Panama, came to America stayed in Brooklyn, and then the family became very much fragmented,” Yearwood told NBC6.

A former foster child, Yearwood’s early life was marked by uncertainty.

She went on a journey of self-discovery through poetry  and dance and eventually became an educator and found her voice with her words.

She wrote the book, “How the Hell Did You do That?” and was recognized as the best author in Miami by the Miami New Times.

“It’s super important because it matters how we take care of others in humanity—to black people to all people,” Yearwood said.

The artist has consistently shown a strong commitment to lifting up local artists by working as the Director of Spinello Projects, a free, non-commercial art fair for Art Basel and collaborating with the City of Miami Beach to curate all the arts and culture activations for Memorial Day weekend.

Yearwood remains steadfast and focused on diversifying creative spaces while reshaping them to promote and amplifying voices. 

Her next project was a commission by Art in Public Spaces titled “Smile for me—say cheese,” and it is an opportunity for creating artistic spaces in Miami that will make people feel good.